


Anywhere Love

by dendriticgold



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 23:10:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3668679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dendriticgold/pseuds/dendriticgold
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One-shot in which Thomas and Jimmy are on holiday together a decade or so after the events of Downton; having spent most of that decade 'together' in every sense of the word. Caught in a rainstorm at an outdoor swimming pool. Originally posted FF/tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anywhere Love

** In the water, in the rain **

** Anywhere, love **

_Germany (South), 1932_

The rain was unexpected, as rain usually  _is_  when one has made the decision to spend the day pursuing an outdoor activity.

Thomas had spent the last half hour or so, initially stretched lazily out on his towel on the grass and later from the icy waters of the swimming pool, absently noting the ominously dark blanket of cloud rolling in from the north-west. It came in slowly over the tops of the semi-mountains of the densely forested landscape, too slow and inconspicuous to cause much alarm to either him or the dozens of other bathers and sun worshippers enjoying the fresh air and (ostensibly) rejuvenating waters of the outdoor swimming pools. The outdoor complex was set atop a high and isolated slope of land that afforded a good view of the towns set into the valley furrows of the surrounding mountainous landscape.

A dim, very dim, but never forgotten, memory from childhood had compelled Thomas to suggest visiting this particular part of Germany to Jimmy when the subject of a much deserved holiday was raised. And the potency of that memory had somehow been enough to turn Jimmy from his original wish to sojourn no further than an English seaside town, and persuade him to make the rather arduous trip down into the alien territory of the Schwarz Wald; disregarding for the moment the lingering unease, even after so many years, remaining from the Great War and the country's unanticipated and oft disquieting (should the whispers be believed) routes towards recovery.

So here the two of them were, surrounded by enthusiastic and athletic creatures, chattering blithely away to one another in a language neither Thomas nor Jimmy could comprehend, wearing highly unflattering and uncomfortable brown swimming trunks. Their trunks had been purchased that morning as an afterthought once they had made the decision to abandon their perusal of the town's obligatory museums, Roman ruins, cafes, and public squares surrounded by spectacular window boxes, for the laziness of a day at the pool.

When they emerged from the changing block adjacent to the turnstiles at the entrance, their clothes and shoes safely stored away in lockers, Thomas and Jimmy had found barely enough space on the grass to lay their towels down. Clearly the locals had also seized upon the potential of the scorching temperature of the late morning.

Nevertheless, they  _had_  found some space.

Thomas's observational skills coupled with Jimmy's shameless assertiveness (and cheeky smile) soon had the two of them stretched out in prime sunbathing positions in the centre of the largest of the three lawns; in no danger of shade from the large trees scattered about (a remnant from the days when forest covered  _all_  the landscape) no matter how far across the sky the sun might come.

Jimmy immediately lay on his front. Thomas started out on his back, propped up on his elbows, watching the world go by.

Once they were both sufficiently toasted, Thomas leant over surreptitiously, and a little closer than he would usually dare in public, the tip of his nose briefly buried in Jimmy's hair, to whisper the magic words. 'Fancy a swim?'

Jimmy instantly sprang up to his hands and knees, grinning broadly. 'Race you, old man!'

'Oh, I'll 'old man' you!' Growled Thomas; a sentence which made precisely bugger all sense but said in  _that_  voice, that voice that always drew out a pleasurable shiver and broadening smile in his companion, it was rather effective.

They didn't actually race, of course. Their relatively pallid skin and inability to reply to attempts at conversation with anything other than 'Morgen' or 'Danke' already marked them out for scrutiny as 'strangers' in a foreign land. And they both realised that the sight of two 'older' men (one middle-aged the other rapidly approaching) running across the grass to the paving slabs around the pool would draw just a  _little_  too much attention for comfort, however much they might have wanted to.

Their fun wasn't to be completely spoiled however. In fact, their half-race, conducted at a brisk (but still respectable) walking pace, weaving in and out of Germans in various states of consciousness and undress, was even more suspenseful and laughter inducing than any unrestrained sprint would have been.

'No no, the big one! The big one!' Thomas gasped out as Jimmy, a good couple of paces ahead, went to head to the pool immediately on their right.

Jimmy's head snapped around to the left where the largest (not to mention deepest) of the pools was concealed at the top of a steep slope of grass, high above the sea of sunbathers.

Twisting his mouth in amusement at the extra challenge, Jimmy abruptly changed direction and headed for the slope with Thomas in hot pursuit. Or as hot a pursuit as his decades of smoking and the multiple human obstacles under his feet would allow.

Jimmy's toes, unsurprisingly, touched the mottled paving slabs which bordered the pool first.

'Ha!...Ah!'

The first Jimmy exclaimed in triumph upon realising he had won the race, the second he shouted in surprise as Thomas sent him unceremoniously careening into the water with a sharp push at his back.

Thomas stood by the side of the pool gripping his bare stomach as he laughed heartily, pausing just long enough to hold up an apologetic hand to the swimming man he had almost flattened with the briefly airborn Jimmy.

'Oh you…SOD!' Jimmy shouted as his thoroughly ruined hairstyle (ordinarily something Thomas wouldn't dream of risking, well aware of the extra time Jimmy had been putting into it since the hair-line began more insistently receding from his temples) and wet face broke the surface of the water. 'It's fucking freezing!' Jimmy added for good measure, reasoning that the other occupants of the pool could bloody well let some foreign swear words slide under the circumstances.

'Oh, is it a bit nippy down there my dear?' Cooed Thomas in a sing-song voice, leaning over but standing just far back enough to avoid splashes or attempts to pull him in.

'Urgh!' Jimmy shouted by way of reply, thrashing about in a circle in his attempts to get warm.

Thomas chuckled.

'Going to come in then?' Jimmy called up from the water, his lower lip still trembling a little from the shock of the cold water as he briefly trod water with his legs alone, attempting to rearrange his drenched hair back into at least an approximation of it's usual side-parting.

'I think I'm alright up here for now.' Said Thomas with a teasing grin.

'You sure…?' Said Jimmy, undulating his arms and legs in wide ellipses to keep his head above water. 'If I were you I'd be wanting to get that…' He indicated towards Thomas's lower half with a nod of his head. '…out of public viewing as quickly as possible…'

Thomas glanced down.

'Oh!' He quickly crouched down by the side of the pool, knees firmly together.

During their brisk walk his…well, 'he'… had shifted a little in the loosely fitted but simultaneously clingy fabric from the original tucked position. As a result the swimming trunks, while technically providing more than adequate coverage in the strictest sense of the word, left absolutely nothing to the imagination. And there wasn't much Thomas could do about it in his present position.

'So…er…is it  _really_  cold in there?' Said Thomas, looking down, watching the ripples made by Jimmy and ten or so other (far more serious) swimmers striking the tiled sides of the pool.

'Absolutely  _freezing_.' Said Jimmy with a merry grin before turning to begin to swim to the other side of the pool.

'Little fucker.' Thomas mumbled under his breath, shifting his legs out in front of him, his backside connecting with the wet tiles at the side of the pool. 'Ooooh that's not nice…' He said to himself as the wetness seeped through the material of his trunks.

He looked up, gritting his teeth (even amid a wave of helpless affection) as he saw the figure of Jimmy bobbing about in the centre of the pool; evidently having decided to witness Thomas's no doubt 'graceful' entry into the water after all.

'Alright, here we go.'

Thomas shifted forwards and deliberately over-balanced, meaning to submerge his entire body in one go to avoid prolonging the agony.

Modest waves of water splashed in all directions as he entered, but Thomas hadn't banked on the tenacity of his left arm; which remained hooked defiantly over the lip at the side of the pool, preventing his shoulders and head from ducking under.

'Fuck its freezing!' He shouted, forcing his arm to release it's hold on the side. 'Fuck it's cold. It's COLD!' He shouted as he began to strike out towards the centre of the pool, his shoulders now submerged but his head still stubbornly dry.

'Ho…Holy Hell!' He choked out as he swam over to Jimmy.

Jimmy moved lazily back in the water, still roughly aiming for the far side of the pool, shooting the odd glance over his shoulder to avoid the multiple 'serious' swimmers who were powering up and down the pool lengthways by way of exercise.

'Why it's really rather pleasant once one gets used to it!' Said Jimmy brightly in a sickly sweet voice.

'Dirty little liar!' Laughed Thomas as he closed the distance between them.

Thomas was by no means a strong swimmer, particularly not when compared directly to Jimmy, but he always reached his destination  _somehow_. So Jimmy had no qualms about turning back around to lead the way to the opposite side of the pool.

Thomas felt the dark shadow which suddenly fell over the pool before his eyes consciously registered it.

And then the rain came.

Even if some of the others had noticed the clouds approach they, like Thomas, had not expected the rain to appear quite so suddenly, nor to be quite so heavy.

Actually 'heavy' was the wrong word to use. The individual rain droplets were small and light, rather than the large and stinging variety; the trouble was that there were a  _lot_  of them. One might say an almost biblical amount, in fact.

Dense curtains of rain showered down, drawing screams and coarse words (some of which were sufficiently similar to English to be comprehensible to Thomas and Jimmy) from the swimmers and sunbathers alike.

The others in the pool quickly made for the edges to hoist themselves out and run to join their families, frantically gathering up their belongings to run for the shelter of the changing rooms by the entrance.

'Should we…?' Jimmy called from up ahead, motioning behind Thomas to the retreating crowd.

Thomas shook his head, holding up a hand to indicate for Jimmy to wait where he was.

Jimmy waited as Thomas approached, squinting and blinking away the water striking his face.

'Don't want to miss our chance for a private swim do you?' Said Thomas, coming to a halt to tread water next to Jimmy. He had to speak louder than usual to be heard over the sound of the rain on the surface of the pool.

Jimmy glanced sideways, not in the least bit surprised to find the pool (not to mention the surrounding complex) completely devoid of people.

'Are you bloody serious?' Jimmy exclaimed, pointedly turning his face heavenwards, eyes screwed shut against the rain.

'It's not like you could get much wetter than you already  _are_.' Said Thomas, giving his shoulder a playful nudge.

'I'm getting out.' Jimmy asserted, beginning to swim the final few yards to the side of the pool. It was the side furthest from the slope that lead back down to the main lawn, but it was closest to Jimmy, who, despite his swimming prowess, knew he could move faster on land than in the water.

'Oh no you don't!' Thomas gave chase, relying on the underhanded tactic of grasping at Jimmy's arms, legs and shoulders to hamper his progress as they both moved towards the pool-side.

Eventually, with both men in fits of giggles, Thomas managed to trap Jimmy's back against the corner of the pool; keeping him from escaping with insistent arms gripping the tiled walls on either side of him.

The longer they looked at one another the more their laughter petered out, to be replaced by a heated silence.

After the briefest cursory glance over his shoulder, knowing he would find nobody there but checking all the same, Thomas leaned in a little to cover Jimmy's mouth with his own. Jimmy's lips were frozen and swollen with the wetness of the water but Thomas still found it one of the most delicious and enticing kisses of their long acquaintance.

'Mmmm…' Jimmy purred as they broke apart, noses resting side by side, foreheads pressed together. 'Rather pleasant, not going to lie.' He smiled.

'Mmmm…' Thomas responded in kind. 'Water feels warmer now.' He said, half-serious (the falling rain  _did_ make the swimming pool water seem warmer by comparison) half hopeless romantic.

He pulled forwards to hug Jimmy tightly against the side of the pool, all cold and clammy limbs and chests; but neither of them seemed to want to let go.

At length Thomas noticed the rain becoming lighter on the backs his shoulders, he released Jimmy from his hold and returned to bracing himself in place with a hand on each wall.

'Still worries me when I think how close I came to missing this.' Said Thomas, his eyes fixed on Jimmy, his expression suddenly all seriousness.

Jimmy bit his lip and became serious too, as he always did on the rare occasion that the initial 'unpleasantness' between them was broached. 'You wanted it too much, and I wanted too much to avoid it.' Said Jimmy softly. 'At least the later part got corrected.'

Thomas nodded, beginning to smile again.

'I love that you still care…' Said Jimmy, as serious as Thomas had ever seen him. '…that you don't take anything for granted, even though it's been, what? Ten years? More?'

A painful look passed across Thomas's face.

Jimmy didn't for one moment regret having said what he'd said, but also knew the conversation had to be put back on less poignant ground as soon as possible for both their sakes.

'I like the rain you know…' He said jovially. '…those grays look far less conspicuous when wet!' He cupped a handful of water and dropped it on Thomas's head, lowering his hand to card his fingers through the knots of hair.

Jokes about Thomas's advancing years (not that Jimmy was under any illusions about his own age) were cruel. Jimmy knew that. But what was crueller was the look in Thomas's eyes whenever the realisation of his age, advancing age, spontaneously hit home.

Jimmy knew, with self-awareness rather than arrogance, that the best way to limit such occurrences and ameliorate their effects when they did occur, was to ensure that any reminder of Thomas's age was accompanied by a reminder of what he had achieved and enjoyed during his years; namely, Jimmy. Theirs was the impossible romance, and it always made Thomas smile to be reminded that whatever else he may loose (hair, skin elasticity, mobility, e.t.c.) he would always have Jimmy.

Thomas took the bait, happily, as he always did. And another tortuously brief kiss was the result.

'This old man can still show you a thing or two…' Said Thomas, crowding Jimmy's personal space in the corner of the pool.

He opened his mouth enough to taste Jimmy's warm saliva along with the raindrops on his lips.

'Can he now?' Whispered Jimmy, into Thomas's mouth; a time honoured ritual of tantalisation intensely enjoyed by both.

'Oh yes…' Thomas said.

His hand found the curve of the small of Jimmy's back, then trailed lower to the fabric of Jimmy's swimming trunks.

He bypassed the waistband neatly to take hold of the seam running around Jimmy's left leg. With one vigorous and forceful motion, Thomas pulled the fabric to the side to expose the area concealed beneath, or at least it  _would_  have been exposed had Thomas not instantly brought his other hand to lightly run over the exposed, submerged flesh, teasing at his entrance with just the tip of a finger.

'Thomas! You'll break the damn elastic!' Jimmy exclaimed by way of reply, more uncomfortable than aroused at that particular moment with the thick fabric of the trunks digging into very inconvenient places at Thomas's insistent tugging.

Without further ado Thomas released his hold, moving instead to grip the waistband of Jimmy's trunks and draw them down entirely.

'Thomas!' Jimmy shouted, flailing his legs and arms a little by way of protest.

Given the clingy and cumbersome nature of the fabric he  _could_ have easily frustrated Thomas's efforts - but  _then_ he would have missed that almost orgasmic feeling of vulnerability and anticipation as the last of the fabric slipped over his feet, to reappear clutched triumphantly aloft in Thomas's hand above the surface of the water.

The feeling of primal debauchery was very potent as Thomas moved in close to kiss him again, having deposited Jimmy's trunks down on the tiles of the pool-side; out of Jimmy's reach, no matter how much he pretended to attempt to grab for them.

Jimmy made the most contented and wanton noises as Thomas pressed their bodies and lips together, in spite of his token efforts to regain his stolen bathing suit.

There was something about being naked that made the  _potential_  of the act which  _could_  be performed all the more potently appealing.

When Thomas's trunks joined his own on the tiles, Jimmy abandoned his half-hearted resistance entirely. They both relaxed into the next kiss, Thomas's arms about Jimmy's waist, Jimmy's arms about Thomas's shoulders, bodies pressed together, leaning against the corner of the pool for support as the rain continued to speckle their shoulders, hair and faces with cool water droplets.

Acting on as much a need to tease as to possess, Thomas trailed a hand lower, the tops of his fingers charting a course down the cleft of Jimmy's buttocks.

Thomas slid his middle finger easily and slowly inside, briefly breaking the kiss to allow him to fully observe the impact of this new development on Jimmy's face.

His reaction was perfect.

The feeling of Thomas's finger (soon, no doubt, to be two fingers) was of course highly arousing in itself. But the intrusion also served as a delicious (naughty) reminder of his nudity, in a public and outdoor location nonetheless. And Jimmy had always always had a weakness for being given such attentions without having to  _ask_  for them.

He indicated his appreciation in the vigour of his kisses as they resumed, especially as the second expected finger pushed and stretched it's way inside.

Jimmy was enjoying himself immensely (ditto, naturally, for Thomas) but was not expecting the situation to develop further given their location, frankly doubting anyone could manage an erection in such icy water. So it was something of a surprise when it became apparent that Thomas had coaxed him into wrapping his legs around his back for reasons other than balance.

'Do you think you can?' Said Jimmy, looking dubiously down at the rain-splashed water. 'Here?'

Thomas pulled Jimmy's thighs to lie further up either side of his hips and pressed Jimmy's back more firmly against the corner of the pool.

'Anywhere, love.'

Jimmy's sigh at the sentiment soon became something else entirely.

Thomas kept his fingers in place just long enough to guide himself in, then put both hands to the task of pulling Jimmy impossibly close towards him.

With Jimmy's face buried in his neck, Thomas was able to feel the tell-tale quiver of Jimmy's jaw that always heralded the moment his body would yield.

He found achieving depth more problematic than usual as he thrust forwards, not having bothered to add anything by way of lubricant due to the aquatic nature of their tryst, but found Jimmy (relaxed and slightly numbed by the water's temperature) all the more eager for him because of it. And soon the problem was more than corrected.

They moved against one another, clumsily at first but soon governed by an instinctive need that cut all superfluous movement and focused them entirely on being locked together both above and below the waist; eyes shut tight against the splashes from the rain which had picked up in ferocity, deluging the outdoor complex and briefly obscuring the surrounding mountains in a grey haze through which only brief flashes of the green woodland beyond could be seen. Not that Thomas or Jimmy were looking.

Freezing, but hot and consumed in a way they had never quite felt before, Thomas and Jimmy allowed the encounter to slowly wind down.

As if on cue, the thundering of the rain began to once again subside. Light drizzles of rain interspersed with rays of skin-warming sunlight caressed their skin as they gently kissed; Thomas's head occasionally dipping lower to run his tongue around the temptingly (almost painfully) firm nubs of Jimmy's nipples. As Jimmy contentedly arched against him.

'Mmmmph…' Thomas grumbled as the bursts of sunlight became more persistent and lingering. '…we really ought to go now.' He said, his lips brushing against Jimmy's as he spoke.

'Does this mean I get my trunks back?' Jimmy whispered with a teasing grin.

'Absolutely not. Never.' The voice in Thomas's head responded firmly, even as the man himself leaned over to retrieve them.

'Um…' Said Thomas as he surveyed first one scrunched and damp pair of trunks then the other. 'Do you know which one's yours?'

Jimmy laughed, flicking a little water at Thomas's confused face.

'No I don't you silly…'

'Eh! No more of that or I'll leave you just as you are.' Thomas smiled, leaning in for a final kiss before randomly selecting one of the pairs of trunks and holding them out to Jimmy.

'Spose it doesn't really matter.' Said Jimmy as he held onto the side of the pool with one hand and attempted to struggle into his trunks with the other. 'They're both the same anyway.'

'Mmmm.' Thomas gargled and nodded his agreement, spitting water out of his mouth as he failed in his attempts to keep his head wholly above water while getting his swimming trunks back on.

'Right, well. Out we get then!' Thomas announced, finding the air outside the pool unexpectedly chilly despite the strengthening sunlight on his skin as he hoisted himself up.

Jimmy followed suit.

'God, what do we look like?' Said Jimmy, looking down at their trunks.

Bad enough when dry, they were now totally obscene (not to mention even more desperately uncomfortable) when wet.

'Don't get too excited, but I need to get out of these as soon as possible.' Said Jimmy, tugging at the fabric to attempt a more comfortable arrangement as he and Thomas made their way from the pool to the top of the slope leading to the lawn below.

Thomas chuckled merrily at that.

He laughed louder at the sight of their two orange towels, looking the size of postage stamps from his current vantage point on the slope; they were the sole towels remaining.

'We're going to have to see if there's still an attendant on by the front gate.' Said Thomas as he and Jimmy made their way down the slippery, wet grass of the slope. 'Going to need some dry towels!'

'Bet we get a funny look for still being in here!' Said Jimmy, falling behind a little in his efforts to make it down the slope without falling over. 'Everyone else has gone home!'

'Oh look!' Thomas suddenly whispered, halting and holding out an arm to catch Jimmy about the middle and make him do the same. 'Not everyone went home, eh?' He said softly, indicating towards the two men emerging together from the small toilet building at the far side of the complex.

The two men looked about for a moment, evidently testing to see if the rain had properly ceased before walking, almost perfectly in step with one another, across the lawn to the changing rooms by the front gate. If they noticed Thomas and Jimmy they gave no sign.

'In the toilets? Well I never!' Said Thomas in mock indignation, summoning his best pantomime dame impression.

Beside him Jimmy laughed and briefly leaned in to him.

'Aren't you glad I'm a bit more romantic?' Thomas said, enjoying the brief press of Jimmy's torso against his own before the two of them resumed the task of walking to retrieve their (no doubt) sodden towels.

'Do you think they actually  _are_?' Said Jimmy pensively, watching the two men as they approached the changing block with intense curiosity.

Thomas frowned, regarding the retreating backs of the two men carefully. He  _had_  been joking. Just assumed that the two men had gotten caught in the rather undignified location when the rain hit and had decided to stay put rather than running for the changing rooms or the exit like everyone else.

Just as the two men slipped out of sight the man on the left placed his hand protectively at the small of the other's back, gently leading him through the doorway.

Thomas's heart gave a little twinge at the unexpected and affectionate gesture.

'Perhaps.' He said gently.

The two men had left by the time Jimmy and Thomas made their way into the changing rooms, clutching much appreciated fresh towels from the front desk. A chill had well and truly set into their damp skin, so both dried off and dressed quickly, without any of the usual teasing or peeking that would have usually been part and parcel of being alone together while changing clothes.

With a smile to the attendant and a few damp towels and coins placed on the front desk, they began to make their way down the empty driveway to the main road below.

Thomas was just in the process of fishing about in his pockets for some change for the bus, sincerely hoping he hadn't given the last of it to the swimming pool attendant in his gratitude for the fresh towels, when he spotted the two men from earlier, now looking far better dressed (and less dishevelled) waiting patiently at the bus stop.

The men looked up as Thomas and Jimmy approached, their expressions first calculating and blank, but beginning to soften at the sight of the tentative smile Thomas offered.

Thomas made a point of speaking loudly in English to Jimmy as they drew nearer the bus stop as a way of pre-emptively avoiding the awkwardness of the two Germans attempting to make conversation; cursing his own ineptitude with languages.

The two men rose from their seats on the bench gave a slight bob of their heads by way of greeting, their eyes bright as they shared a private joke at Thomas's evident discomfort with the notion of being mistaken for German. Thomas and Jimmy returned the slight bow with pleasant but awkward expressions.

The four men stood looking at one another for a moment before breaking out into abashed smiles and moving to sit back on the bench together. It was a sturdy thing, the seat crafted from a single trunk of the straight, tall, evergreens rising all around them. They sat side by side in pleasant silence; Jimmy and Thomas naturally sitting a little nearer one another, as did the other two men.

Thomas was almost disappointed when the bus arrived, and again when the two men disembarked a few stops later while the bus was still looping around the hair-pin bends of the slopes of the forest, evidently bound for a small village in the valley below. He and Jimmy stayed put, bound for the town.

Sensing Thomas's mood, Jimmy risked a quick, warming, squeeze of Thomas's hand.

Thomas smiled in thanks.

The two of them watched as the trees and tiny villages gave way to the large four-storey houses and flat parks of the main town.

After the inevitable argument about which bus stop was closest to their hotel, and the equally inevitable disembarking at the wrong bus stop despite Jimmy's protests, the two of them detoured from the paved town centre and wandered a little way down the river that neatly cupped the west of the town, marking the boundary between the cultivatedly sophisticated and the wild.

'Are you going to let  _me_  pay for dinner tonight?' Said Jimmy, neatly side-stepping a densely packed flowerbed after wandering off the path.

'We've been over this.' Said Thomas in a voice that was both jovial and weary. 'I make more than you, so  _I_ pay.'

'Well  _I_  thought…' Jimmy persisted, briefly grasping Thomas's sleeve to pull him off the path to join him in walking rebelliously on the grass. '…that we had agreed you'd cover the hotel and that I'd cover the food.'

'Hmmm…that's not how I remember it.' Thomas chuckled.

'Oh you're bloody impossible!' Jimmy grumbled, giving a playful flick to Thomas's jacket sleeve.


End file.
